Chapter 42

Gideon looked away, his fingers drumming nervously against the polished wood table. The starlight danced through the wine in his glass, casting reddish reflections across his tense face.

"I'll tell him when he comes back," he finally said, his voice low and measured, as though he weighed every word carefully. "He has too much on his mind right now."

"What do you mean?"

He made a vague gesture w